This past week saw three schools doing what most of sports-loving America does when the weather starts to (theoretically) turn cold and the calendar turns to September: prepare for football season. While athletic departments scrambling to make preparations for the season are ubiquitous with this time of year, three are recently noteworthy as they represent interesting and commendable out-of-the-box thinking to use their budget resources wisely to solve problems or create opportunities.
The first school that made waves using a creative solution that fits within its needs is Georgia State University. The downtown Atlanta institution has been making concerted efforts to convert its commuter-only image into a true campus one, and there has been success in doing so. Taking the next step of buying an Atlanta landmark that symbolizes one of the city’s transformative events to make a true “home field” is a no-brainer. Getting Turner Field and rebranding it in GSU’s image is a creative and economical way to connect-with and serve a frustrated community that just saw the hometown Braves move to the suburbs, save an icon in the city, and get a world-class structure for less than it would cost to buy the land and build. The stadium and its surrounding area will be used for student housing, retail, apartments, and the GSU football facility.
In another smart and creative economic move, UAB, which is reinstating football at the university, is building what they’re calling “major college football’s first “indoor” practice facility that’s not actually enclosed.” Athletic director Mark Ingram was given $22.5 million by the University of Alabama System to work on football facilities, and rather than blow the majority or entire amount (Florida just built one for $15 million, Georgia for $30 million) on an indoor practice facility in a location that never gets cold enough to warrant it, Ingram thought outside the box, contacting architects to see how feasible a pavilion over a full-size field would be. Shielding the team from the rain and providing shade in the heat, the pavilion could be a tremendous money-saver (costing only $4.5 million) that also satisfies real needs for an athletic department restarting a marquee sport. Also, shade pavilions are all the rage right now.
Georgia State and UAB are operating on limited budgets and finding work-arounds to ensure the best solutions and maximum bang for their bucks. Oregon, on the other hand, has a little more money to play with, but being well-off comes with its own set of challenges. For one, keeping ahead in the facilities arms-race with the likes of other powerhouses is an issue in-and-of-itself. Oregon, like the prior two institutions, marshaled its (ample) resources to find a creative solution and better serve its student-athletes. Behold, the recently-unveiled Marcus Mariota Sports Performance Center, complete with cutting edge sports science facilities and refurbished equipment and training rooms. Touted as having “remarkable technology and efficiency of space in the 30,000 square-foot renovation,” the ultimate goal of the center is, according to AD Rob Mullens, “to create one space where we could utilize the most state-of-the-art technology to improve student-athlete wellness and emphasize our commitment to the health and safety of our student-athletes.” If looking like the best to impress recruits and utilizing cutting-edge technology to gain an edge are your goals, then Oregon’s money seems to have been well-spent.
Schools with challenging budgetary limits and at differing levels of athletic development have unique and specific needs. Whether it is Oregon, which needs to spend to remain atop the football pyramid, UAB, which is just restarting its football program and must find creative solutions to help find its footing, or GSU, which is trying to build community by buying a piece of local history, some athletic departments appear to know how to find a creative and effective solution.
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